Horse Retirement Farms

[barnmouse]

Looking for some feedback from members here
In my search for a retirement option for my dressage horse I haven’t been able to really find what I was looking for. My guy is not the type that you can just put out into pasture. He’d be depressed… he likes his turnout but then wants back into the comforts of the barn and be around people. I honestly believe that not every horse would enjoy being turnout 24/7 “as nature intended” after they spent a lifetime living in barns with their humands around them.

So, that brought up the thought of starting up a retirement home for horses that don’t fit the 24/7 pasture option. We are horse professionals and I am looking for feedback about feasibility and demand for a reasonable retirement option with a stall and daily handling. Horses would be handled daily, turnout out, brought in. pre turnout prep with fly spray and mask or blanket when needed, post turnout care with a bath if needed. feed in their stalls so no need to fight for food. Turnout alone, with a buddy or a group.

Rates:
From what I found online the 24/7 options range in the $375-$400 range.
Having a horse in the stall obviously creates more work (cleaning, shavings, handling) so I would need to charge a bit more to cover those expenses. I found one place that offered the turnout/stall/grooming option I was looking for at $575/month with a waiting list. your thoughts?

Location:
What do you think would be the best location for such a farm or would it matter since owners would most likely only come to visit their friends. Needs to have losts of pasture, so I am thinking TN, KY, NC, SC, GA… any thoughts?

What would you want?
If you were to send your horse into retirement, what would be the most important thing for you?

Demand:
Most importantly: do you think there is demand for such a service?

thanks in advance for any feedback you can provide

[bathsheba8542]

Hi - yes, I do think there is demand for the service. I have a few horses here that are retired and just do not thrive with 24 hour turnout, even in great weather. They basically are fully-boarded horses and they get the care you would expect in a dressage barn without being ridden. For me, the most important thing is regular turnout. I am lucky to have 2 all-weather paddocks with shelter, so my horses have been turned out every day for at least some part of the day for the past three years.

[findeight]

To make just your expenses let alone a small profit with a basic full care arrangement, you need to locate in an area where owners will pay that to keep an unuseable horse. Few will go 500 in some of the areas you mention and hesitate to go over 250 for supervised field board with no stall.

Another thing to consider is the down side of running a retirement facility-they come to you to die. Not everybody wants to specialize in end of life/hospice care. Make sure you really want to get into that before investing in it. Thereare some unpleasant decisions, like disposal, you have to sort out.

You also will deal with largely absentee owners so almost have to provide supervision, basic handling and probably occasionally grooming because if you don’t, they don’t get any. Unless you just want to chuck them out and never check closer then a look see from the driveway.

I board mine, retired show horse, in a very basic full care set up, turn out, stall with mats and minimal shavings, light grooming (as in rinsing the mud off, fly spraying blanketing -once, no mid day wardrobe changes, three day a week curry and brush, daily hoof picking). Small arena, mostly unused, lights in the barn, hot water, tackroom, no bathroom. That’s about my minimum requirements. Pay around 500.

Owner gets lots of calls, most balk at the price, wont go over 350. This in an area where standard minimal full service boarding is 550 to 750 and show barns start around 1k fir board only. Field board in a group with no services is about 250-350.

All about location, how cheaply you can run it and how much area horse owners are willing to pay for an old and/or unusable horse…in some places that’s going to be nothing.

[Lady_Eboshi]

[QUOTE=barnmouse;8172257]
Looking for some feedback from members here
In my search for a retirement option for my dressage horse I haven’t been able to really find what I was looking for. My guy is not the type that you can just put out into pasture. He’d be depressed… he likes his turnout but then wants back into the comforts of the barn and be around people. I honestly believe that not every horse would enjoy being turnout 24/7 “as nature intended” after they spent a lifetime living in barns with their humands around them.

So, that brought up the thought of starting up a retirement home for horses that don’t fit the 24/7 pasture option. We are horse professionals and I am looking for feedback about feasibility and demand for a reasonable retirement option with a stall and daily handling. Horses would be handled daily, turnout out, brought in. pre turnout prep with fly spray and mask or blanket when needed, post turnout care with a bath if needed. feed in their stalls so no need to fight for food. Turnout alone, with a buddy or a group.

Rates:
From what I found online the 24/7 options range in the $375-$400 range.
Having a horse in the stall obviously creates more work (cleaning, shavings, handling) so I would need to charge a bit more to cover those expenses. I found one place that offered the turnout/stall/grooming option I was looking for at $575/month with a waiting list. your thoughts?

Location:
What do you think would be the best location for such a farm or would it matter since owners would most likely only come to visit their friends. Needs to have losts of pasture, so I am thinking TN, KY, NC, SC, GA… any thoughts?

What would you want?
If you were to send your horse into retirement, what would be the most important thing for you?

Demand:
Most importantly: do you think there is demand for such a service?

thanks in advance for any feedback you can provide[/QUOTE]

My friend around the corner runs just such a place–his board runs $800.00 a month and his retirees get all the care show horses do, just no riding. Full service board with an indoor around here runs $1,200.00 and up, so everything’s relative and your charges should be, too.

You want to be, like we are, on the outer edge of a very horsey area that has GOBS of money–people who can more than afford to let Dobbin retire in the style to which he’s become accustomed. Read, disposable income and lots of show horses.

Boarding retirees by whatever management style is GREAT because you have all the horsey-time but minimal OWNER time on site, though you can expect to see them sometimes for sure. Get a great vet and farrier on your team, and remember that for the class of client you’re looking for, “more is more.” They won’t appreciate cost containment as much as they’ll love you for lots of micromanagement and fussing. :winkgrin:

[Guilherme]

Boarding is, perhaps, THE most difficult ways to make money in the horse business. A “retirement” facility would be the epitome of “boarding” facilities and maybe the most difficult to turn a profit from.

“Retired” horses, pretty much by definition, will need more supportive care than younger horses. They will frequently have specialized feeding protocols and often will be on regular medication. All this costs time. Time is money. This is true be the facility stall based or pasture based. If the rate you need to charge is not supported by the market you are in then you are on a downhill financial slide that has only one end.

Lady E is in a part of the country with significant numbers of people with large amounts of disposable income. This is not the case in TN, KY, NC, SC, GA, etc. What these areas do offer is a relatively benign climate for equine husbandry and significantly lower costs for land, services, forage, etc.*

If you have a base of referrals from high income areas then a “southern strategy” can be a winner as your clients will be used to paying higher prices and your base costs will be less. If you have to rely on local business, or even clients from The Big Cities, you will have a much tougher go of it.

Do your research carefully. Good luck in your decision.

G.

*Note that in the states mentioned there are pockets of significant wealth. But once you move away from Atlanta, Lexington, Raleigh, Nashville, etc. wealth levels decline rather quickly.

[LockeMeadows]

We have several retirement boarders. Each horse has a completely different set of needs. The 28yo Thoroughbred that was a National Level Hunter has a schedule that varies day by day. Sometimes he wants to be in. Sometimes he wants to be out. Sometimes he wants in just long enough to take a nap and then wants right back out. He spent his life in a stall and LOVES being out on pasture. He is quite opinionated and tells us exactly what he wants. His board is a whopping $300 a month and that includes complete care as well as pictures being sent to his owner so she can see how wonderful he looks.

The other older guys are not near as picky and really don’t like being in stalls more than they have to be. We have 80 acres and a very quiet herd, so the older horses can relax and enjoy their golden years. HOWEVER, we do have stalls for them if need be and they get their meds daily or twice daily, are fed in stalls to ensure they get their supplements, and we keep a very close eye on them. Field board with extra love is only $200.

Honestly, I think you would be hard pressed to find boarders that are willing to pay those prices for retirement horses. We are in Virginia and most of our retirement boarders have come from NY. One barn in particular has sent us 5 over the past 15 years give or take. The economy is tough right now and not everyone has disposable income to keep their retired horse in a “show barn”. I’m not trying to be negative and perhaps your area is better suited to what you are offering. I’m just sharing my personal experience.

[riopony]

I think that there could very easily be a market for that type of care but the cost would be your biggest hurdle… I have been keeping my eye open for something should I need to retire my guy early (habitual lamenesses) and every thing I have seen that looks decent is just about TWICE what I pay for my full service, amazing care, barn with an indoor! It just goes to show what the different areas do for you. So needless to say we are still rehabbing in the same place and using the indoor for peace, quiet, and Walls!

[SMF11]

I don’t actually see a gap in the market. There are MANY places geared towards retirees that have them stalled at night. In fact, virtually ALL the places local to me do this. And many, many different levels of service. (For example, I offer all the services you mention but the horses are out 24/7. Don’t confuse being out all the time with minimal care).

Just as there are all kinds of set ups and service levels there are all kinds of price points. I charge about half of what a local place with a trainer and indoor charges. Half a mile down the road is a 16 stall retirement barn that charges over $2,000/month (I have to believe it is one of the most expensive, if not THE most expensive retirement barns in the country!).

Setting this up in a place with cheap land means you would have to market this really well to expensive parts of the country and get them to send the horses to you, because if you are in a poorer part of the country the locals won’t pay what you’d have to charge for stall board/top care.

Also, to generalize, some people are willing to send their horses far away for retirement, but often they do this to save money. Other people want to be able to see their retired horse frequently, so are willing to pay more to have the horse close by. Not many are willing to pay more and not see the horse, so you’ll have to REALLY do your research to get the price point right.

Also, people that want their horses stalled often discount the value of large fields. So you may not need huge turnout areas, and therefore need less land.

I would do a lot more research – especially I’d urge you to talk to people in person. Many, many barns are not online and if they are, don’t publish their board rates. That very fancy, very expensive barn I mentioned does not have a website or in fact any internet presence.